1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a thread-wound golf ball having excellent spin, control, flight performance, and "feel" upon impact, as well as increased distance even when hit by a relatively low club head-speed golfer.
2. Prior Art
Thread-wound golf balls have an excellent "feel" and control compared with two-piece and multi-piece solid golf balls comprising a solid core enclosed in one or more cover layers. However, when struck with a driver, for example, they have too much spin and not enough distance.
Numerous golf balls with improved control and flight performance have been proposed, including thread-wound golf balls that contain a center ball having a two-layer construction comprising an inner layer and an outer layer as disclosed, for example, in JP-A 253236/1997 and JP-A 271534/1997.
However, there is room for improvement in the distance and "feel," when hit by a low head-speed player, of all such golf balls containing a center ball with a two-layer construction. Specifically, the golf ball of JP-A 253236/1997 suffers from the problems of excessive spin, a low launch angle, and short distance because the outer layer of the center ball is too hard. The golf ball of JP-A 271534/1997 in which the center ball outer layer is composed primarily of a resinous material acquires an insufficient initial velocity due to differences in resilience between the inner and outer layers.